Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening

The beginning of an epic. Demon hunter Dante is just starting at his new private investigation office, where he specializes in the paranormal. Before he even names his office, a group of demons trashes the place. Now Dante must fight through the midst of these demons, making new friends and enemies along the way, learning that the one behind it all is closer to him than he could have ever imagined…

Version Reviewed: PS2Devil May Cry 3 is one of those games that just jumps out at you. Looking at the cover of the game, you see a guy in a red trench coat carrying a huge sword over his shoulder. Now to me, that just screams “badass”. The more you look into this game, the more badass it seems – once you get behind the controller, you can see just how badass it really is. Now you may be thinking, “oh, well this just seems a lot like a Resident Evil game without the zombies.” Well, you wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that, as the original game was, in fact, a work-in-progress version of Resident Evil 4, but Capcom decided it didn’t fit the normal survival/horror genre, and thus Devil May Cry was born.

Nowadays, I’m sure the first thing anyone notices in a game is the graphics. For me, Devil May Cry 3 was no exception. I admit that at parts of the game the graphics seemed a bit blocky, but all in all, the graphic quality of the game was at par with most games I’ve ever played for the PS2. The cut scenes of the game seemed like they were generated on-the-fly at times, even though all the cut scenes were pre-rendered. Even so, the cut scenes were still a bit more realistic than what some other games have had.

The audio of this game, I would say, is very well done. The voice actors who portray their respective characters make it feel like the characters are actually alive rather than just being part of a video game. For this game, one of the best aspects as far as the audio goes is the music. The music adds just the right amount of gothic overtones to make you think you’re actually in a dark, musky castle where demons could just pop out at you and eat your soul. That’s basically what this game is getting at, so the music helps to enforce this imagery. All in all, the music is very fitting for the game and in the end it only adds to the value of this game.

The gameplay of this game is best described by its genre: hack and slash. The gameplay relies more on guns and swords (and other assorted demonic weapons) rather than more traditional hand-to-hand combat. One of the main emphases on the gameplay is the balance of guns and swords. At the beginning of the game, the main weapons are two guns and a sword. Throughout the game new weapons are discovered, but they all fall under one of two categories— guns or devil arms. Guns are pretty straightforward. They’re basically any weapon that can be used strategically for long-range attacks. The devil arms, however, are a bit different, and therefore add a bit more of an edge to this game. Devil arms are any weapons obtained by defeating a boss character (usually an incredibly powerful demon), and every weapon has its own special characteristic (one weapon is even a guitar). Another aspect that makes the gameplay so different from most games in the action genre is the addition of different “styles” the player can use to fight. As far as the weapons go, there are two that emphasize the weapons the most; Swordmaster (which is deceptive; it actually focuses on devil arms in general rather than just the swords) and Gunslinger. Then there are several other styles that focus on evasion, speed, ect. In Devil May Cry 3, the gameplay is definitely what makes this game stand out among the crowd.

Now, in early 2006, Devil May Cry 3 was re-released as Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition. This game is basically the same as its predecessor, except for the fact that it adds a few new stages to challenge the player, adds a new, harder difficulty level, and allows the player to play as Dante’s brother, Vergil, after beating the game once with Dante. With this route, the gameplay is identical to the original. In Vergil’s scenario, the player plays through the same levels they played through as Dante, except with Vergil and his one fighting style (“Dark Slayer”). Personally, I recommend getting the Special Edition over the original because it’s basically the same game, except it has more to it.

Devil May Cry 3 is a unique game in its own right. Starting in the shadow of Resident Evil, it has been expanded into something that most people wouldn’t really associate with the Resident Evil series (apart from some of the music and sound effects that might make you think, “that sounds a lot like Resident Evil.”). Devil May Cry 3 is the perfect game for anyone who likes mindless destruction, cool weapons, or smartass half-demons. I’d say if you’ve never tried a Devil May Cry game, then this is the best place to start. Even though it’s the third game in the series, its events actually occur prior to the first game. So if you’re looking for a fun game to play (and don’t have a next-gen system) then Devil May Cry 3 is a game that I highly recommend you look into.